very slow motion the. worst you're going to go right out of the radio guy minestrone. what we're about to give you never seen anything like this i'm told. when i was starting and abby martin and this is breaking the set so you probably are you may have already heard about the league a o.j. document on the obama administration's and big u.s. criteria for what american could be infiltrated by u.s. drones well apparently americans are in the dark about the fact that this is even happening in the poll from public mind shows that forty percent of voters think it's a legal for the government to kill americans abroad. and so cute no way the

u.s. could be doing that because it's illegal won't put these people probably don't realize that this administration has created a legal framework to make what would normally be illegal and legal what's even more disturbing is that as long as it's not americans who are being executed people don't seem to care all of the same poll seventy five percent of people approve of drone wars the target whatever the u.s. brands as a quote national security threat is the this exact mentality is the problem this blind faith is what led to americans being the targets of assassinations without due process our silence is complicity what are we going to wake up to this flawed logic when the predator drones are above our houses taking out our family and friends. are looking. to do is have you ever seen anything like that.

yesterday's show was all about the national defense authorization act and the subsequent lawsuit that has been filed against the government over the indefinite detention quads along with the powerhouse of journalists and activists there were also whistleblowers present to show their solidarity in the case while in new york city for the trial i had the honor of sitting down with thomas drake is a former national security agency employee and whistleblower of a wiretapping program called trailblazer in which he claims is a violation of our privacy and as a result of him speaking out he was declared an enemy of the state and charged under the espionage act and ever since he's been a prominent voice for civil liberties and the rights of whistleblowers to take a look. like and. is just another step since the post nine eleven era. stop and the erosion of the u.s. constitution and the rise of not just the mass security state but secret

government. executed through through for yacht executive rule. when you came out as a whistle blower and you were prosecuted for it and targeted i mean how did it feel to have the same establishment that you had dedicated so much of your life working for come down on you total betrayal. is important no i took an oath four times this one from the constitution that oath was not it was not an oath to the president it was not an oath to law it was not an oath of secrecy it was not a to the end our security agency it was certainly not an oath to look the other way when the government itself commits massive fraud waste and abuse and engages itself in wrongdoing illegality and that's precisely what the government did after nine eleven on a vast scale but we just came up on the fortieth anniversary of watergate and you know here we have one wiretapping scandal that brought nixon down and the supreme

court rules that the president is not above the law i mean how did we stray from there to now prosecuting the messenger and where the president is now above the law that's clear it's surreal i was a very young teenager in the one nine hundred seventy s. that was my civic awakening i actually remember very young hillary rodham clinton a on the impeachment committee i remember all of the machinations as watergate unfolded i also remember daniel ellsberg and the pentagon papers and all of the violations of american rights and liberties by our own government that were veals in those congressional investigations the church committee hearings in which the mare america found out just how far the government had gone to silence or dissidents journalists activists and those who

become enemies of the state as defined by the government in secret now that was the one nine hundred seventy s. . and frank church had warned the nation that in particular respect to the technology of the national security agency and others. that if we ever found ourselves in a similar scenario in the future would we be able be able to pull ourselves back across the rubicon because it might be too late well speaking of too late do you think that the not only the egregious erosion of their our civil liberties systematically so far after an event like nine eleven but that coupled with the corporate state that actually profits off this the surveillance state all of these these military industrial complex corporations i mean have we gone too far to really repeal this now that we have this corporate marriage between government profiting off these aversions i hope not but it's an unholy alliance and it's

clearly entering into a period where not only do we lose our constitutional rights to the rise of corporate government state which some would use another word to describe that which is a form of fascism or soft tyranny you can't have a government violate the constitution in secret and then forming all these alliances with corporations who themselves are ensuring the continuance of their own interests through the government that's not in the best interest of the country let alone the constitution but that's what's happening and so we've actually seen in two channels the largest reduce real wealth that i that i can even consider in terms of the u.s. history you have the distribution of wealth to the corporate side exemplified by wall street you have to redistribute wealth to the nascar a complex military industrial complex massive billions upon billions hundreds of billions. there's only so much you can extract out of the country and the people

and so were elsewhere is left to take to take away their rights. because you have to ensure the continuance of the power structure that's were facing the n.d.a. in particular section ten twenty one i find particularly pernicious because one of the above in a straight is actually been taken one step further a step that i couldn't even imagine not only do we bypass the constitution not only to leave the constitution aside and i would do step outside and put ourselves in an entirely different vehicle called the now security state we're going to do so under the authority of the commander in chief the military rule military law or more the more accurately say military authority and we're extending that authority which is clearly separated in the constitution we're going to extend that authority over those who are in the united states period and we're going to apply the

same quote unquote laws of war which is a misnomer the laws of war and all the other enabling acts that we've created since nine eleven or going to apply those to those who reside within the united states and if we decide i want to take someone off the street because they might be a potential threat or a you know they're providing material support or substandard support what's substandard support mean means whatever the commander in chief wants it to mean first syslog and they're doing so under military authority the last thing i would want the united states ever become is a military state. because it's probably is true that you can't trust the locals and you probably can't trust even the local police so who do you nationalize who do you federalize in a way to message lee to ensure the control and monitoring of the population but that was never in the original design of the constitution and historically we've

never really ever gone there we got a few breaches here and there but they were quickly pulled back here were saying hey it doesn't matter the only authority that the prosecution could cite one questioned in the court room by the judges today was the a.u.m. f. the authorization to use military force so if that was the only authority which in itself is fraught with all kinds of problems that all goes back to the early days of the post nine eleven era why do you need section ten twenty one section ten twenty one is really a generalized provision under which the government undue itself once exercised military authority at any time anywhere including its anybody in the united states of america thomas to wrap it up i mean obviously we're living in a very agreed just two tiered justice system where people like you and other

whistleblowers are prosecuted for telling the truth yet the torturers the wire tappers are going on book tours gallivanting around the globe talking about their time in government should those people be in jail yes they violated the law agree just like they were and they were enablers in the violation the constitution and here's i sit here before you as the only person prosecuted indicted. for the surveillance program which i blew the whistle on i had nothing to do that program i was on offer the program i was on unable the program i ever engage in secret surveillance in violation of the fourth amendment or the foreign intelligence surveillance act yet i am the one that one point as achieves the original chief prosecutor my case stated in no uncertain terms at a secret f.b.i. facility how would you like to spend the rest of your life in prison mr drake unless you start talking that's how serious they were about protecting that secret

surveillance program called stellar wind john kiriakou he's the only person going to prison because of the torture program a state sponsored program which we're now finding out is far vaster was far more expansive than it ever been revealed before at least perhaps more at least fifty four countries he's the only one going to prison and why because he blew the whistle on it he knowledge of the former cia employee that torture was a state sponsored policy but he never engage in torture he never supported torture and he actually refused the torture training and they made it crystal clear during their training at fair trial therefore space this we don't do y. because we're americans and medic sexual ism of america under the constitution we

don't do what the others do i never imagined they would turn it into the torture program a vast scale that we ourselves would engage in torture because we're america and we can get away with it because we're america what does that say about us with. our country. we're the only two people the two biggest scales the bush administration. and obama's ration was said we're going to look for it not backward but look backward long enough and far enough to actually prosecute indict the two people who blew the whistle on those two programs it has to stop the stand must be taken power doesn't yield socially secret power doesn't you willingly it doesn't you got to keep exposing disclosing it was going to take more when you

start taking our fundamental right see in the thing that makes america america for all of our faults and contradictions even those that built into the original constitution the thing that makes america america are those precious rights that are granted to us as the people not to the government in the first and fourth amendment are fundamental along with the fifth and sixth. fundamental as the reason why there was an american revolution well maybe it's time for another one. i'm not calling for us to go in the streets and overthrow the government right now but considering how the principles this country was founded on being a roaded by the day we do need a revolution one of ideas and values it was great to get thomas drake's insight on that. if you're wondering about what i'm doing when i'm not on air checking out on twitter at abby martin like what you see you can follow me there find all my tweets

linking to every segment from the show as well just random thoughts i had throughout the day and also please help us get a break in the said trending on twitter oh good now throw out some hashtags we can get from you on this twitter sphere but only with your help so head to twitter dot com and check me out at abby martin you know you take a break from my preaching for now but stay tuned here about an energy source that may be doing more harm than good next.

well. technology innovation all the list of elements around russia. the future of coverage. americans dependence on foreign oil has increasingly become a point of contention which is why the government has been seeking out alternative alternative domestic energy sources one of them that you've probably heard of that's becoming more readily used is called horizontal hydraulic fracturing also known as fracking where they extract in natural gas from shell rock it's a controversial practice that was explored two thousand and ten documentary called gas land take a look at how it's done. a little mix of water and chemicals eight thousand feet into the ground. fracking itself is like a mini earthquake the intense pressure breaks apart the rock and freeze up to us

and while on the surface that may seem like a good idea to replace fossil fuels with this there's a whole host of other problems that accompany the practice and that's why one community is saying no town of woodstock new york has become the first municipality calling for legislation to make fracking a class a felony that's just delayed it's an opposition movement that's forming globally so what is the future of fracking and what are the real dangers associated with it to talk about all that and more i'm joined by karen harmon managing editor of the journal capitalism nature socialism environmental journalist who what why news karen thank you so much for coming on. thanks for having me so it seems like we're hearing more and more about the use of fracking when just a couple years ago no one really heard about it give us a sense of how widespread this practices and really can we look to this as one of the main pillars of energy policy in america's future. well i think if you or i

want gas companies get their way then yes we can look forward to. being fracking is actually. since about two thousand and it started out what's currently considered. modern hydro fracking which is a combination of two techniques why is horizontal drilling and the other why is hydraulic fracturing itself so those two techniques have been combined. how important came up with that started in the barnett shale in texas around two thousand or so and. it's just it's also been happening in colorado in wyoming and it's spreading out there fracking in. arkansas are now going to starting in ohio pennsylvania of course which is. the

introduction to fracking here in the northeast and what we're seeing is that it's just been unbelievably polluting and destructive karen let's go into that exact point i've read a lot of reports about what kind of affects this this perhaps has on the environment i mean how would you describe those as well as the health effects because i didn't get a chance to see gas land but i know did an incredible job investigating the ailment these people are getting in the communities i mean are there fossett six floating in the giant fireballs when they turn them on talk about the effects on the health and human health and the environment. ok in terms since the health of statics. there's a lot of problems i mean you have a lot of air pollution with fracking because fracking it's not like you just drill a well and now and. you take that gas and you have to build an entire infrastructure of stuff so there's a lot of truck traffic because there's

a whole industrial landscape that has to be and. now i'm these rural landscapes in pennsylvania and it's cuomo. in new york here in new york lots of roads lots of drill pads themselves compressor stations all kinds of industrial equipment a lot of these things emit tremendous amounts of the air pollutants diesel. benzene all kinds of chemicals and stuff are minute into your air and another thing about fracking that's really interesting is that traditionally there was separation between the industrial areas and residential areas but fracking is an activity that is. it's it's just being away out in literally a hundred you know a couple hundred feet from people's homes. and across the street from schools and things like that there's no division it seems so people are

being points and in terms of the air the water is a huge problem a lot of chemicals that are used in fracking and also the natural gas itself which is next when my great. people drink this new material they get sick the kinds of health effects that we then i have been reading about a lot of nerve damage a lot of skin rash and can centers all kinds of breathing problems people have trouble sleeping because the other thing about this is that it's a twenty four seven operation so when they start there's no way to get any pace there's no sleep it's really bright it's just. you know i wouldn't want to next to my house i read i read somewhere that you mention across the street from a school i think they're actually trying to instill fracking measures on a college campus somewhere in the nation i want to talk to you about alternatives

though i mean people are looking at fracking and saying look this is great i mean it's going to lessen our dependence on foreign oil obviously you said that there's oil companies that have a stake doesn't really come is it a mistake i'm sure the revolving doors going round and round with them and the government we have a minute left but i mean what are environmental activists advocating as a better strategy than this. well i think woodstock you know as as i wrote in my piece for who what why. what stuck in space if we say well look the current system that we have. the current regulatory system will not allow us to say no to this it doesn't allow it. energies people you know to exercise their democratic rights which techniques also to do the interview that you just can't time drag. so you're saying that we don't want to try to talk the government into making it

barack we just want to say this is our arm. there's nothing that can be down to actually write it say we want to say no to that and there are a lot of alternatives that we can tap into thank you so much for coming on karen charmin environmental journalist out of who what why i appreciate time. i. know you might think that the iraq war is over and that the war in afghanistan is winding down and help you watch the corporate media might actually believe it. there's word now that president obama speeding up the transition in afghanistan announcing there will be less u.s. troops there starting this break and a surprise announcement the president today announced a new lease sped up timetable for how the war is going to wind down and afghanistan

president obama is pressing ahead with plans for an end game in afghanistan he met yesterday at the white house with visiting afghan president hamid karzai and announced that the u.s. military transition is already underway this is one of the military bases that will no doubt be affected as the u.s. military continues to wind down its presence here in afghanistan here's what the announcement means for the most part up to now american and afghan soldiers have been fighting the taliban side by side in the mountains in the valleys basically wherever the taliban are hiding well that is now changing as of this spring it's afghan soldiers that will be in the lead they will be the ones initiating the combat with the taliban while the american soldiers will only be here to advise. the system when they are requested to oh great i guess we can all just disregard the strategic agreement between obama and karzai over the extended u.s. presence in afghanistan through twenty twenty four which conveniently is not mentioned by the corporate media i wonder why but the fact of the matter is that

the us military operates around the world and it's more widespread than ever before comes the us military footprint it seems that the us has its boots eyes ears and drones on the ground in almost every country in the world back in two thousand and eleven when congressman ron paul famously said that the u.s. is under great threat and no not because of our freedoms but rather because quote we occupy so many countries were one hundred and thirty countries we have nine hundred bases around the world. the sad reality is that the us government is openly engaged in overseas contingency operations in every corner of the planet for example in the middle east the us has ongoing operations that range from ground forces to aerial drone strikes and routine surveillance in nearly every country in the region most recently news just broke of a secret drone base in saudi arabia one that news outlets knew about for years but

didn't report on because of their fear of violating national security moving on to africa u.s. military presence ranges from advise and assist troops throughout the continent to actual bases in egypt djibouti and ethiopia not to mention the full engagement by soldiers cia agents and drone strikes in countries like somalia in mali and the recent pivot to asia countries like australia and the philippines have experienced a surge of u.s. military ships planes and personnel all in addition to the routine war exercises between the u.s. and its closest regional allies but when it comes to latin america the u.s. military is footprint is more like a blanket of counter-narcotics operations being launched from bases all over the region this is especially true in central america where the resulting clashes have turned the region into the most dangerous place on earth further south however countries are less exposed animal colombia and brazil aid the us in their drug operations countries like ecuador of simply refuse to allow america to build bases

on their land here in north america the mexican government acknowledges that u.s. intelligence and military officials are deployed in the country however we have no idea to what extent since the information is being withheld because of again national security i haven't heard that one before but let's not forget our closest allies in europe or several countries are willing participants in the cia's expansive torture program in fact check out the countries that are hosting overseas troops. germany the u.k. belgium's. spain italy and turkey all countries that are more than willing to house tens of thousands of american troops are ready to mobilize at any point so even though we hear constant rhetoric about wars winding down an obama shift in policy this is to ask yourself does this look like a military empire that's winding down you.